Affiliates thrilled NBC moving Leno to later slot

After watching its affiliates' late news ratings tank since the September debut of "The Jay Leno Show," NBC finally has capitulated to the stations' demands and announced that the show will move from that slot soon.

Network officials announced Sunday that Leno's last show will be Feb. 11.

After the Winter Olympics (which begin Feb. 12), Leno will return to 10:35 p.m., but for only a half-hour. Conan O'Brien said no thanks to moving his show back a half-hour, which throws his future with NBC and "The Tonight Show" into jeopardy.

Since the Leno show began in September, affiliates everywhere watched their late newscasts' ratings tank, including WFIE-NBC14, which saw a huge drop in the most recent ratings period in November. Most stations' officials blamed the weak lead-in that Leno delivered.

In a statement Monday afternoon, WFIE Vice President and General Manager Debbie Bush expressed gratitude for the network's decision.

"We appreciate that NBC has listened to the affiliates and is making the move sooner than later," Bush said. "14WFIE has always admired Jay Leno and we are extremely glad to hear that he will stay on our air and move back to 10:35 p.m."

The network plans to replace Leno's 9 p.m. show with more dramas such as the "Law & Order" shows and news programs like "Dateline NBC." Those shows will move back to 9 p.m. after the Olympics.

We'll just have to wait and see how it all shakes out. I'll keep you posted.

In other news this week:

n There might be competition for cable and satellite soon, and if it works out, it'll offer what looks like a good, inexpensive subscription choice for viewers.

It's called Sezmi, and it uses over-the-air DTV signals and broadband to provide viewers with cable networks and video-on-demand services. It debuted in Los Angeles in November, where it attracted 10,000 subscribers within two days, and it's expected to roll out nationwide later this year.

Sezmi allows viewers to completely customize their viewing experience, and it does so without a lot of damage to the viewer's wallet. The price? About $25 a month.

n WFIE has begun streaming its 7 to 8 a.m. hour of "14 News Sunrise" and the first 18 minutes of "Midday with Mike" live on the station's Web site, 14wfie.com. News director C.J. Hoyt tells me that they're capable of streaming all of their newscasts online, but these are the first two.

It's a nice approach to reach those who want to see these news programs, but can't be in front of a TV set.

n Nielsen data from November shows that only 9 percent of Tri-State households rely solely on an antenna for television reception.

I'm told that the Evansville market has among the highest penetration rates for cable and satellite in the country, with 52 percent of households subscribing to cable and 39 percent using satellite or another "alternative delivery service," which includes things such as TV delivered over the Internet, called IPTV (a service typically offered by rural telephone cooperatives).

The numbers don't include homes that, in addition to cable or satellite, use antennas as a secondary or "backup" service. I would think, however, given the number of folks who communicate with me on a fairly regular basis, that this number is probably pretty substantial.

Jacob Newkirk can be reached via e-mail at jnewkirk77@att.net or through his Web site, jakesdtvblog.com.